Giving Thanks

I know I'm hardly being original by doing this, but I have to take a minute to express a little gratitude for the fullness of my life. The list goes on and on ad infinitum, but for the sake of brevity, here are a few of my favorite things (raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens go without saying):

• a warm patch of sunshine in the middle of my living room floor (the kids are asleep and my house is resplendent with afternoon sunlight)
• Isaac saying, "Mommy, I love you" at least a dozen times today (much nicer than yesterday when he called me a stinky skunkweed over and over and over again)
• Judah hitting my cheeks as hard as he can (and those chubby little hands are strong!) just so he can kiss them better
• the bare spot in my living room that will be filled with a Christmas tree by this evening (hand in hand with that pleasant thought is the fun trip we get to make to the local tree farm in just an hour or so!)
• fresh flowers on my kitchen table
• a double date with my hubby and our good friends last night (I may have gutter-balled nearly the entire first game of bowling, but I redeemed myself in round two, thank you very much)
• the thought that one year ago today we were landing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and on the verge of meeting our son
• a God who continually surprises, upholds, and adores me, though I can't claim to deserve his love in any way, shape, or form

Life is just so beautiful... Happy Thanksgiving to you all.